The American government just gave $197 million to aid Mexico in its war on drugs. America also donated helicopters and surveillance aircrafts. This is only the first part of the package;the US is supposed to give over $400 million to Mexico to control its gang and drug problems.
Drug-violence has been getting out of control and has been blamed for over 4,000 deaths in 2008. Drug dealers aren't very peaceful, and they actually are very well established in the community: Many of them work closely with Mexican officials, which is why none of the money is being given in cash ( the government is s.
So, why is the US giving money? Because it benefits us. About 90% of the cocaine found in the US has been smuggled through Mexico. Ever wonder why Tijuana is so dangerous? A more effective war on drugs in Mexico means that less drugs will be entering the states.
The US will also be giving money to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Central America. In all, America will be giving away $1.3 billion over a three year period.
21 comments:
I think what America is doing is quite commendable (and actually smart!)Drugs have become a big problem in our society; the only way to curb them, in my opinion, is by going straight to the source. That "source" happens to be Mexico (since it smuggles most US cocaine). Rather than invade Mexico and try to solve the drug problems ourselves, we have decided to take on a noninvasive (and humanitarian) approach - funding. I'm all for this funding. What's $1.3 billion in three years when we spend $720 million EACH DAY in Iraq? Even though money is tight right now in the US, this "donation" will pay off in the longrun...it's worth investing in.
You know what would be even more effective?
Give up the War on Drugs.
Seriously, it is a huge waste of money. Not to mention that the illegality of drugs is what causes drug related violence. In drug deals the participants can't go to the police and so they use other methods of resolving disputes (violence). Additionally, illegality drives up prices and simply makes more money for the drug dealers.
Also, people should be free to do drugs. It is a victimless crime. Now things like driving under the influence should be crimes, but not the act of taking or having drugs.
ah well even though our economy sucks and we're in debt and blah blah blah i guess its better in the long run to aide Mexico and get the drug dealing in control. better to start at the site of the problem then stopping the drugs once they get out of Mexico :[
uh yea, war on drugs = bad idea. drugs are not going to stop and are not going to be phased out of life. in fact, the harder we crack down, the more dangerous the crime becomes. that is a pretty counteractive method of solving crime. ESPECIALLY in Mexico, where officials and police officers are corrupt. its going to be way harder to end crime in Mexico and poorer countries and the U.S. government continues to waste tax payers money. but they've been good at that lately
What. We're giving out an expected $1.3 billion dollars to help Mexico over 3 years to fight drugs? Not that this is a bad cause, but I think that now might not be the best time to do something like this. Our economy is in quite a poor situation, where every dollar counts. Our national debt is so high that some economists believe the nation government will declare bankruptcy by 2009. While it may be advantageous in the future to win favors from Mexico, that wont matter if the national government ceases to function in that future.
Also, it is interesting to note that we are only lending money and supplies to Mexico's law enforcement. Not to blame the police and investigative forces of Mexico, but they have not proved to be very efficient in stopping drug trafficking in the past. How will they be able to suddenly fix this problem with more money and weapons? Note that this didn't work in Vietnam, it doesn't seem to be working well in Iraq, and I doubt it will work now. While this money may be nothing to what we spend in Iraq, it is arguable that the money spent in Iraq is being handled effectively. This appears to be a waste.
I disagree with Aaron. We can't just stop the war on drugs...it would be completely un-American to give up on something, especially something like this.
yea like the iraq war. America needs to learn that its not the world police and give up on bad ideas before they only make it worse
I agree with Anastasia. I think that there are a lot of things, like Iraq, that the U.S needs to back away from but the war on drugs isn't one of them.
While we are in an economic downturn and I am all for spending money wisely, it could potentially hurt this country in the long run by giving up the war on drugs. If we relax on drug enforcement, or don't take action to fix the source of the problem (Mexico) then what will happen to our communities? If our youth have easier access to drugs and are not afraid of getting caught then that could result in a generation of druggies. Those kids may stop going to school or work and we would have to start paying more money for rehab centers and the homeless population could grow. If we make sure that our youth is educated and healthy then they will enter the workplace and be more successful. Quitting the war on drugs would be fun now but in the long term it could cost us.
I was also wondering, if we stop the war on drugs would that mean legalizing it or just turning the other way?
I don't think that the U.S. should back down on the war on drugs, I just think that we should put it on the back burner. Although illegal, engaging in drugs is a personal decision and, for the most part, those who are hurt are those who have made that choice. Therefore, the U.S. should deal with more serious issues first-- issues that affect everyone, such as the economy. In addition, I am not quite confident in this method of fighting drugs. Although it is true that going straight to the source is a good idea, I'm not sure that Mexico is capable of spending this money effectively.
I agree that at this time we shouldn't be using our taxpayers money this way. I may not have my facts right, but I don't believe that hard drugs are grown in Mexico, they're grown in South America under ever more corrupt leaders, so "going to the source" in Mexico doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. People have been doing drugs as long as people have been around and they are not going to stop anytime soon. Countries that have lax drugs laws, like Amsterdam, actually have a lower drug related crime rate. The same people are going to do drugs whether they are legal or not, and some people are not going to do drugs even if they are legal. So i disagree with Emily that letting go of the war on drugs will create a generation of druggies. Cigarettes are perfectly legal and the majority of American's realize it's a bad idea and stay away. If the war on drugs were to stop people are not going to go and do cocaine just because it is legal.
eeegh. It's a sticky situation...practically in between a rock and a hard place. Yes, people are always going to do drugs. And obviously, making drugs illegal with a slight amount of enforcement hasn't stopped most people from gaining access to drugs. So I seriously don't believe that cracking down more enforcement is going to change anything because drugs have become a lifestyle to many, and it's considered a right as long as no one (except the user) is being harmed. But then again, if we make it legal, what does that say about America? What message are we sending to our children and how will they be affected?
sooo. i am going to agree with sandy on this one. We're in a time of serious economic turmoil and it seems unwise to be putting money and funding into a project that probably won't be successful (considering that the serious druggies aren't going to magically be able to stop using and will most likely resort to some underground drug network to get their fix...)
The US is one of the main consumers of drugs, particularly cocaine from Colombia. The way to eliminate drug dealing is to eliminate the consumers, to eliminate the addiction. If no one was buying cocaine then there would be no market for it and no one would be selling it. I think the money could go to better use trying to eradicate OUR addiction. It's like getting the roots out, if you dont get out the roots you can't kill it. They can never eradicate drug dealing completely in Mexico or any country and as long as there is SOMEONE selling somewhere, people who really want it will just go to more risk to get it. Giving Mexico money wont help.
I think we are taking on a smart approach to this problem because we would be causing so many problems if we actually tried to solve the problem with force and would get into it with mexico leading to other problems. We are actually encouraging Mexico to clean up the drug act which benefits us in terms of cleaning up our drug problem and all in a peacefull way. We should be scoring points with mexico and others this way.
the war on drugs doesnt work. in case anyone noticed, Reagan(my least favortie president) started the war on drugs in the 80's. and we are no where close to eradicating the problem. lax drug laws prevents crime. thats a fact. cutting it off at the source for one isnt going to work, its a waste of money. and for two even if it did work, there would just be another source started and we would have to waste money on another source.
quite simply, drugs are a way of life for many Americans. and making drugs legal will prevent the crime associated with it And generate revenue in times of economic recession. im not saying that we should make some of the more dangerous, harder drugs legal, but alcohol and tobacco are both legal already and it create billions of dollars for our country in taxes and stimulate the economy. so making marijuana and other lesser drugs just makes sense. so much of our country already uses marijuana and making it legal isnt necessarily going to raise that rate. it is just going to keep our children from crime and possible dangerous enteractions with drug dealers.
the war on drugs is a waste of money and just doesnt work.
Mexico is our neighboring country and if drugs become a very big problem there it will most likely become our problem if it hasn't already. More drugs might be brought into this country illegally. I think the US is trying to be smart by helping Mexico.
I don't think that this is a bad idea at all but I think this should be taken into consideration after the U.S. stabilizes. And when it does I think that it'll be a smart move. I mean, we help other countries in need why not help Mexico improve their drug problems. This is a really big problem in Mexico right now and in other countries. Of course this problem can’t be solved completely and the authorities tend to be corrupt. However, I think that this money will provide Mexico with an incentive for bettering their country. I also think that this is a more effective way of spending our money rather than spending it on the war.
Just a thought:
The fairly new administartion of Mexican President Felipe Calderon has cracked down aggressively on drugs. The results; thousands of deaths, practically warfare in several northern states, many police officials assassinated, etc. But, there have been some successes. If Calederon fails in his war against the cartels, it will give drug lords a license to operate for years with impunity. We must support the efforts of Calderon and other anti-drug leaders like Colombia President Alvaro Uribe if we are to ever stop the illegal flow of drugs into the US.
I am not trying to be selfish at all but I think the 1.3 billion could have maybe helped us since our economy is failing. I don't know maybe. But so much money being spent in foriegn affairs hurts us. I do not believe drugs will dissapear, people addicted to drugs need help not just be deprived of their drug. We should try this "WAR on Drugs" when everything here has calmed down and we could actually focus more on it.
Well,I kind of agree with Kenny. We need to prioritize better. We need to worry more about the education and of course the economic crisis. Still I understand that we are benefiting from this. After all we have taken a big brother role.
And no one has listened to my points.
The people who use drugs are persecuted for a choice they make that harms no one else.
Besides this, the War on Drugs wastes money (even more than most things the government does, which is really saying something).
If you are against legal drugs you are against freedom. People make their own personal choice on whether to do drugs (and the vast, vast majority of people choose to not do harmful drugs, because they are harmful)
I really doubt anyone will read this though because it is from a while ago.
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